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Welcome to Am I Infected

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Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2012

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Author
Topic: RISK OF HIV FROM KNIFE CUT (Read 5028 times)

Hello, first of all I want to apologize if my question is dumb, i just don't know all of the facts about every way HIV can be contracted and what are the posibilities after diferent types of exposure.

Last night I was at a restaurant with my wife having dinner, while waiting for the food I grabbed the steak knife and wipped it with a napkin cuttin my middle finger. How much risk there is in this episode for catching HIV? Since it just happenned, my friend who is a nurse (which i don't think it makes him an expert on HIV) is telling me that I am in the window of opportunity for getting PEP. He says at the hospital where he works they encourage PEP after punctures, cuts, etc. Should I have the PEP therapy? What are the posibilities of contracting HIV if a previous HIV+ customer put the knife in his mouth o cut himself with it? I am just getting a lot of information from people around me. My wife says I probably should not listen to what they say and ask an expert. I am a bit paranoid right now and don't know what to do.

HIV is unable to reproduce outside its living host (unlike many bacteria or fungi, which may do so under suitable conditions), except under laboratory conditions; therefore, it does not spread or maintain infectiousness outside its host.

Hiv is a fragile, difficult to transmit virus that is primarily transmitted INSIDE the human body, as in unprotected anal or vaginal intercourse where the virus never leaves the confines of the two bodies.

Once outside the body, small changes in temperature, and pH and moisture levels all quickly damage the virus and render it unable to infect. For this reason, you are NOT going to become infected with hiv from objects in the environment, and that includes steak knives sitting on a restaurant table.

You have NOT had a risk for hiv infection - by any stretch of the imagination - and you certainly do NOT need PEP. No doctor in his or her right mind would prescribe it for you under the circumstances anyway.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Thank you so much Ann, it just freaks me out to see a LOT of WRONG information about HIV all over the Internet, I found this forum and looked serious with lots of serious information. Thank you so much for your quick responses to both RapidRod and Ann.

All the misinformation out there not only on the internet, but also amongst health care professionals (such as your nurse friend) FREAKS ME THE HELL OUT TOO! Sorry for shouting, but it does my head in. Seriously.

Please tell your nurse friend to go have an hiv awareness refresher course before he gives out more bad advice concerning hiv.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

I am sorry for previously posting this question on a new thread, I just read your reply so I'm moving my question to my this first thread. I apologize.

This question is regarding a coworker who had unprotected sex 8 weeks ago, He has been on Celexa (Citalopram) for about 5 years taking the medication only for periods of time (periods of 7-8 months every year) whenever he feels he needs it.

Reading about the side effects of citalopram he says Citalopram depletes the immune system of glutathione as other SSRIs medications do.

Since glutathione is a component of the immune system that boosts the strength in lymphocytes, Can a depletion of it caused by citalopram delay seroconversion?

He says that other powerful drugs and autoimmune disorders can cause delayed seroconversion. Does taking citalopram needs certain consideration as to whether or not it decreases the ability of the immune system to fight infections?

Is the Rapid Elisa test at 12 weeks conclusive under this circumstances?

The drugs your friend is taking in no way impact the 12 week testing window.

AN example of a drug therapy that can cause delay is chemotherapy for cancer. In that treatment, the entire immune system (along, hopefully, with the cancerous cells) is basically destroyed. It is for this reason that it is imperative that people undergoing harsh chemo be in an astonishingly dust and dirt free home or in a hospital clean room, as any pathogen would stand the chance of killing the patient. Masks and gloves and surgical gowns are often required for any contact.

Obviously, over time, this immune system rebuilds itself. And when it does, future chemotherapies notwithstanding, the patient's testing window returns to the 12 week standard.

Logged

"Many people, especially in the gay community, turn to oral sex as a safer alternative in the age of AIDS. And with HIV rates rising, people need to remember that oral sex is safer sex. It's a reasonable alternative."

Your friend was incorrect when he told you that autoimmune disease can cause delayed seroconversion.

If autoimmune disease effects the tests at all, it is through causing false positive results. A person with an autoimmune disease has a hyperactive immune system to the point where it is attacking the person's own body, and creating antibodies that can cross-react with the ELISA test, causing a false positive..

Western Blot tests confirm whether or not the positive is a false one (possibly caused by an autoimmune problem) or an actual positive. That's one of the reasons why a person is not considered hiv positive until a confirmatory WB test has also come back positive.

The only people who might take a little longer to seroconvert and test positive are those on chemotherapy for cancer, on anti-rejection drugs following organ transplant, or those who have been injecting street drugs, every day, for years. Even these people will normally test positive (if actually infected) by three months.

The window period has been at three months for years now. If common drugs like SSRIs caused delayed seroconversion, the window period would be much longer to catch people who don't want to admit to SSRI use. (because mental illness carries stigma)

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts